Leveling with the Gods

C491

"I guess you made a deal with that guy too."

After the fight with Shub-Niggurath, one day, Mimir, who came to seek Zeus, said these words.

How did he know what he had done?

"Do you want to make a deal with me? A deal."

"I feel like vomiting just hearing the word 'deal.' Get lost."

"It won't be a loss for you. Why don't you listen first?"

He was already very sensitive because the energy that had entered his body was corroding his body and organs.

Mimir's outstretched arm made Zeus's nerves even more sensitive.

"There's probably no way for you to survive."

Craa-.

He almost dropped a Lightning Bolt on Mimir's body in response to those words.

But remembering his relationship with Odin and Mimir's abilities, he barely restrained himself.

He was known as the Sage for his brilliant intellect. How bright was he? So much that, due to his brilliant ability, he wasted most of his life locked in the curse of knowledge.

Zeus regained his composure.

"What do you mean by that? What deal are you talking about?"

"I'll show you a way to survive."

"You said just now that there wasn't any."

"Because it won't be here but there."

They were words devoid of meaning. Where was there, and where was here? And what significance did the place have with life and death?

"You don't have to do anything. Just take this with you."

Kak~

Before resolving that mystery, Mimir suddenly ripped out his only Eye with his hands.

Despite the grotesque nature, Zeus didn't frown. Instead, he asked with an expression questioning why he was given that.

"Do you just want me to have it?"

"Yes. Just take it with you."

Zeus grabbed Mimir's Eye with his hand.

The sensation wasn't as strange as he thought. It was more like holding an eye-shaped pearl than an eyeball.

He also felt something strange.

The eye of the wise Mimir.

He recalled the rumors circulating among the people.

They said that Mimir's wisdom was locked in his eyes, not in his head.

Zeus had vaguely heard those rumors, but he didn't pay much attention to them. In the case of baseless rumors, the probability of being unfounded was ninety percent.

However...

"Can I really gain your wisdom just with this Eye?"

"Do you believe in that rumor?"

"I don't. Still, now that I have it in my hands, I feel hopeful."

"Don't use it foolishly. You don't seem like a fool, even though you look like a fool."

"You're worrying too much. By the way, this isn't even a deal, right?"

"Instead..."

As expected, he also wanted something.

An Eye was a good exchange, even for Mimir. Zeus was prepared to give a lot in return.

However...

"Be a bit human, idiot."

"...Do you want to fight?"

At Mimir's words, Zeus frowned.

The phrase "be a bit human" sounded unpleasant to him.

Mimir didn't react to Zeus's growing magic. He closed his lost eyes and turned away.

How far could he go in that state?

'The Eye was useless.'

After the fight with Foolish Chaos...

Zeus felt like he was floating somewhere. Strangely, he didn't feel strength in his body, and only thoughts piled up in his head.

Meanwhile...

The first thing he remembered, and what he remembered the most, was the Eye that Mimir had given him.

'There's no way it's useless.'

Mimir was the wisest person in this Tower.

Indeed, is it possible to say that the reason why Asgard could become the strongest Guild in the Tower was due to Mimir's wisdom and not Odin's power?

Zeus also recognized those exceptional skills of Mimir.

That's why Zeus hoped the Eye would be as useful as he expected.

'Not here but there.'

He probably could only catch a glimpse of the answer to those words after some time.

Bubble-.

As his consciousness became clearer, the feeling of suffocation filled his throat.

When had he experienced that feeling?

A face appeared in his mind.

'...My annoying older brother?'

In the times when his relationship with Poseidon wasn't good, he had trapped him in the water several times. Although he had always escaped from that place frequently, the memories of then were still fresh in his mind.

Swu-

The view gradually returned.

He was definitely dead.

To destroy the Name that Foolish Chaos had, he had exhausted his body like a rag and had poured out all his strength.

Definitely, that's what he did.

Although breathing was uncomfortable and he didn't feel fear of being underwater, he had no thoughts that it was scary or uncomfortable.

Instead, he was more interested in the fact that he was alive.

'Where am I?'

Pum-.

He felt something pulling him upwards.

He still didn't have strength in his body.

In his place, Zeus's gaze turned to a thin thread in the water, mixed with impurities, becoming increasingly turbid.

"Thread?"

Shooaaah-.

The moment he understood, Zeus's body rose upwards, making its way through the water currents.

Gradually, a faint light became visible. Someone was pulling the thread, lifting Zeus's body.

Splash-.

"We caught him!"

"...Is it a person?"

The voices of the two people he heard first.

Thump-.

Zeus, caught on the hook, fell to the ground. Because he fell face down, it was quite impactful.

"Cough!"

He coughed a lot of water. He tried to get up, but his body still didn't move as he wanted.

Had he swallowed too much water? He felt heavy, and his Arcane Power was gone, leaving a sense of emptiness.

Still, fortunately, there was no pain.

'I'm alive, right?'

The certainty that he was alive.

More than anything, the damned energy of Foolish Chaos that didn't disappear within him had finally gone.

'I am alive.'

The lost Arcane Power would gradually recover.

Somehow, he had to give strength to his body. At least, he managed to lift the body with strength in his arms.

Hup-.

At that moment...

Two people approached Zeus. He had heard the voices but hadn't seen the people well because of the water.

Or rather, he hadn't come out of the water, or rather, Zeus, who had been hoisted from the water, first examined the appearance of those two people.

"It's real."

"..."

They were familiar faces.

Of course, they weren't exactly the same.

Odin had a lot more gray hair and wrinkles than Zeus remembered.

But aside from that, his broad and muscular back remained the same. And there was no other king in this Tower who had such majesty apart from himself.

Next to him, Hercules had lost an arm, and his gaze had become quite wild.

"Is this place...?"

He might have suspected it, but it was true.

Zeus, who was silent for a moment, looked at the completely purple sky and spoke with confidence.

"It's the future."

Odin and Hercules doubted Zeus's existence.

It was natural since someone who had died suddenly came back to life. Even Zeus would find it difficult to believe that story.

But fortunately, that part was resolved quite easily.

"Mimir's Eye..."

He didn't fully understand it, but that didn't mean he couldn't accept it. If it was Mimir. Odin nodded.

Having sacrificed Chronos, he sent YuWon to the past and planned to send Son OhGong to the past using Mimir's Eyes.

However, Past Mimir learned about this through Son OhGong.

So, the reverse should be possible too.

'Why the hell does it have to be this guy...?'

Odin looked at Zeus and sank into his thoughts for a moment.

In the past, there were many more living people than now.

Vishnu, Asura, who died in the recent fight, and of course, the Bull Demon King, who no longer existed in the present, would be there.

So why?

'If Mimir sent this guy, he must have some value.'

Mimir was only awake for a short time, but when he was awake, he was a more reliable ally than anyone else.

Odin never had doubts. Because the living witness was himself.

And that...

Blink-.

Hercules also thought the same way.

"I know you hate me."

Maybe because he had rested a bit while talking, Zeus's complexion seemed much more relaxed than before.

"Although I don't plan to fight you yet. We leave that for later, as I have other enemies now."

"I have no intention of fighting. You mean nothing to me."

"That's even better."

Zeus's answer made Hercules's expression tremble for a moment.

Yes, in the end, he was that kind of person.

He didn't care at all. He was his father but not his family. From the beginning, his expectations were wrong.

"I'm sorry."

A word thrown suddenly.

Hercules's eyes blinked once again.

For a moment, he couldn't believe what he heard.

Whose was this?

'Zeus... isn't it?'

The Zeus he knew would never be a figure who offered apologies.

He thought it might be fake. Hercules looked again into Zeus's eyes.

There was no mistake.

It was real.

"…It's okay."

Hercules didn't take long to respond.

"I killed my father here. My father was dethroned because of me and lost his life."

He had already had his revenge.

At that time, he had eliminated all the anger.

The only thing left was regret for not speaking before killing him.

"My father and I are done."

"...Is that so?"

For Zeus, it was also the first time he apologized to someone.

It was a thought he had after dying.

Hercules was forced to live an unwanted life according to his plans. And all the bad things he had done to "create" that Hercules.

He regretted not saying at least one word of apology, that thought suddenly came to his mind.

It was already too late. This wasn't the present he lived in, but the future. Zeus couldn't say how many more years had passed since then.

But...

"It's a relief."

By bending his pride a little, he felt refreshed inside.

It wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

'So this is what Mimir meant when he told me to be a bit human?'

But that feeling was also only for a moment.

"Hey, Odin!"

A familiar voice echoed from somewhere.

"What, Hercules is here too?"

Son OhGong had come to find Odin.

He found him alongside Hercules and waved his hand.

Considering that he had come this far, it seemed he was also bidding farewell to his other companions in his own way.

Son OhGong approached.

Zeus didn't turn his head. He didn't think he would encounter him so soon.

Son OhGong's gaze naturally turned toward Zeus.

"Who is this guy?"

"This guy is..."

Odin, upon receiving the question, frowned and scratched his head.

It was a difficult story to understand even for normal people.

But explaining that story to this stupid monkey already seemed difficult from the beginning.

When he still couldn't respond properly.

"I am Zeus."

Zeus stood up and introduced himself first.

Naturally, Son OhGong showed a perplexed expression.

"Zeus? Are you that guy's dad?"

"That's right."

"I thought you were dead."

"Well, you're wrong."

A shameless response.

Zeus looked at Hercules.

"It's strange that you say I'm dead when you're seeing me with your own eyes. Don't you think?"